Tag Archives: Ronald Reagan

May 3, 2018Comments Off on Lanhee Chen: Encouraging Developments on North Korea666 Views

When it comes to North Korea, the old adage of “Trust, but verify” isn’t nearly enough. We should—absolutely—be skeptical of the rogue regime’s claims. And we should, of course, hold them accountable for whatever promises they might make.

But we should still be encouraged by Kim Jong Un’s recent statements that he wants peace and is committed to stopping his nuclear weapons tests.

A lot of hard work stands between where we are and where we want to go, but the Trump Administration deserves credit for bringing us this far. The key question is whether President Trump can produce a deal that completely ends that country’s nuclear weapons program.

In his efforts, Trump is assisted by an all-star team of aides: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Adviser John Bolton, and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. If anyone can get this right, we should have confidence in this team.

February 25, 2018Comments Off on David Davenport: The Lost Art of Political Compromise562 Views

Among many lost arts in Washington the most problematic is the lost art of compromise.

The dictionary says compromise includes the root word “com” or together with the word promise: We make promises by coming together. America learned this early, with the Constitutional Convention full of compromises.

But now members of Congress vote not to find the best solution for the country but the best platform for their next election. Democrats threatened to shut the entire government over dreamer immigrants, while Trump was willing to see a shutdown over his wall. And so it goes, politicians standing firm on one issue or another which they believe will get them reelected, and the whole of the federal government is held hostage.

We need more politicians like Ronald Reagan, who told House Speaker Tip O’Neill, “I will take half a loaf today, but I will come back for the other half tomorrow.”

January 25, 2018Comments Off on Michael Medved: Focus on the State of the Union925 Views

This is Michael Medved for Townhall.com, with a message to President Trump: congratulations, Mr. President, on your first year in office. In the upcoming State of the Union Address you should highlight our strong economy, progress against ISIS, cuts in taxes and regulation, judicial appointments and more. You should paraphrase Ronald Reagan by asking: are you better off than you were one year ago? An overwhelming majority will say yes, we are.

But please, Mr. President, don’t let Democrats change the focus from the state of the union to the state of your mind. Of course, your opponents have been nasty and unfair, but hitting back at them in similarly nasty terms only diminishes your stature. By emphasizing the undeniable progress of everyday Americans, you will build on your first year’s success. And you can overcome the highly personal attacks of your critics more effectively by ignoring them, rather than responding to them.

October 9, 2017Comments Off on Jerry Bowyer: Tax Reform and a Chance to Make up for Lost Decade724 Views

Last week, Republican leaders announced their tax reform plans.

The good news is that they’re pro-growth: US corporate tax rates are today the highest in the developed world, and our current system perversely punishes American companies for bringing profits back from their foreign sales. The GOP plan fixes that problem. It also cuts taxes for what has been labeled “flow through” businesses —small and family-owned businesses often use that form. My own family business uses it. The reason it’s important to cut taxes these types of small businesses is because American jobs are almost all created the same way: by small businesses becoming big businesses.

It’s been a pretty bad decade for the U.S. economy: a terrible recession followed by barely a whiff of a recovery.

That lost decade has cost us standing abroad and frayed the social fabric at home. We can end that by embracing the growth model of JFK, Reagan and Gingrich/Clinton.

May 7, 2017Comments Off on Lanhee Chen: Tax Reform Is Long Overdue1,393 Views

President Trump introduced a significant tax reform proposal that will dramatically lower the business tax rate, simplify the individual tax code, and cut tax rates for many American taxpayers.

While there are still many details to be filled in, the basic contours of and principles underlying Trump’s reform plan are worth supporting.

We haven’t seen an overhaul of our tax code for over thirty years, since Ronald Reagan was president and such major change is long overdue. And why do we need reform? To put it simply, our tax rates are too high, the tax code is too complicated, and we have a system that disincentivizes growth and investment, two things our economy desperately needs.

The next few months will bring a lot of back-and-forth and much politicking over the president’s proposed changes to the tax code. But Republicans and Democrats should agree that our tax system needs to be improved and modernized. It will help American businesses compete, and American families do better.